El Camino College Hall of Fame Committee Announces Class of 2023

PURCHASE TICKETS

TORRANCE, Calif. --- The El Camino College Hall of Fame Committee is pleased to announce the induction of the 2023 Athletics Hall of Fame Class, which will be inducted on June 1, 2023 on the campus of ECC.

The 14 individual inductees this year exemplified what it means to be a member of the Warriors during their time at El Camino College. The inductees span eight sports and more than 50 years of excellence on the field of play along with meritorious service for the athletics program.

The ceremony will be held at the Athletics Multi-Purpose Room inside the ECC Gym Complex (GYM 216) with doors opening at 5 p.m. for a social hour. Dinner and the presentation will begin at 6 p.m.

Tickets for the 2023 ECC Athletics Hall of Fame are $75 per person and can be purchased at the following link: https://elcamino.prestosports.com/hof/HOF_Ticket_Purchases

The 30th class of the ECC Athletics Hall of Fame is:

• Carolyn Biedler (Meritorious Service, Athletics Specialist: 1984-2017) A staple of the El Camino College Athletics department for more than 30 years. Her day-to-day duties included handling eligibility, transportation and fundraising for every athletics program at ECC. She continues to be involved with ECC even after retirement helping with postseason and other special events at ECC. Biedler is also currently a member of the ECC Athletics Hall of Fame committee. She retired in 2017 after 33 years of service and has two seats dedicated to her so that she always has a seat at any and all football games at Murdock Stadium. The Female Student Athlete of the Year Award at ECC is also named after Biedler.
• Garrett Cooper (Baseball: 2010-11) A two-year standout for the Warriors baseball team, Cooper was named to the CCCAA All-State and All-Conference teams in his time with the Warriors. In 2010, he batted .373 in 40 games with54 hits including four home runs, 37 RBI, 14 doubles and one triple. He played in 35 games as a sophomore and batted .321 with 42 hits including three homers and 33 RBI. He ranked in the top-five in most of the major offensive categories in conference both years. Cooper would go on to transfer to Auburn to finish his collegiate career and was drafted in the sixth round of the 2013 MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. He made his MLB debut in 2017 with the Yankees and is currently in the middle of his seventh season in the Majors and sixth with the Miami Marlins, where he was named an MLB All Star in 2022.
• Andre Freeman (Men's Track and Field: 1983-84) One of the premier sprinters in the history of the ECC Track and Field program, Freeman still holds a number of all-time records in the ECC History Book. Freeman was the 100m conference champion in 1984 and a member of the 1984 state championship 4x400m relay team that won the title with a mark of 3:07.95. He also scored a podium finish in the 100m, placing third at the state championships. Freeman still currently holds the ECC record in the 100m and 200m. He set both in 1984 with a time of 10.39 in the 100m and 20.85 in the 200m. No Warriors sprinter has come within one-tenth of a second of his 100m record since 1985 (John Patterson, 10.47) and no other runner has ever recorded a time under 21 seconds in the 200m. Freeman would go on to transfer to San Diego State and earn his degree in Industrial Electronics and Plastics Technology.
• Donovan Gallatin (Football: 1990-91) One of the most dominant defensive players to grace the ECC gridiron, Gallatin was a two-time All American in his time with the Warriors. He helped lead the Warriors to a 9-2 overall record and a win in the Orange County Bowl as a freshman. He led the team with 98 tackles in his first year and was named First Team All-Mission Conference. As a sophomore, Gallatin only got better as he tallied 119 tackles, a mark that is tied for the eighth most single-season tackles in Warriors history. His 217 total career tackles rank second all-time in ECC history and he was named to the ECC 1990s All-Decade Team. Gallatin would go on to transfer to UCLA for the 1992-93 seasons and played in the 1994 Rose Bowl.
• Erin Greenleaf (Women's Basketball: 1998-2000) Greenleaf was one of the all-time great women's basketball players to suit up for the Warriors. In her two years at ECC, Greenleaf averaged 17.4 points per game and 11.8 rebounds. She had the top career (17.4 ppg) and single-season scoring (20.1 ppg) average in ECC history up until this past season when both records were broken by Brandy Castaneda. But Greenleaf remains the greatest rebounder in Warriors history as she averaged 13.0 rebounds a game as a sophomore and 11.8 rebounds in her two-year career. She was named to the All-South Coast Conference First Team as a freshman and then won the SCC Player of the Year award as a sophomore. She was also named to the CCCAA All-State Team in her final year with the Warriors. Greenleaf transferred to Tarleton State after her career at ECC.
• Dr. William Mealer (Meritorious Service, Team Physician: 1987-Present) A member of the ECC Athletics family since 1987, Dr. Mealer has served as the team physician for 35 years. He played free safety and was a punt returner in high school and then attended ECC in 1975. He was named one of ECC's Top 50 Alumni at the school's 50th anniversary celebration. He graduated from the University of Miami and completed medical school at Miami, where he served as the chief resident in orthopedics at the University of Miami Medical School. He has worked at Beach City Orthopedics & Sports Medicine since 2008. 
• Nate Ness (Football: 2004-05) A member of the ECC Football 2000s All-Decade Team, Ness had a historic career with the Warriors. He was named an All-American in 2005 after tying Jon Robertson's single-season record for interceptions in a season with 10, a record that stood alone for nearly 40 years (1968). He did stand above all else after the 2005 season with 17 career interceptions, the most in ECC history. In 2005, he finished with 36 tackles and six pass breakups along with the 10 picks as he was named First Team All-Mission Conference. He would go on to attend the University of Arizona where he played in 2007 and 2008. He played in 12 games as a junior in 2007, making five starts. He recorded 32 tackles and tied for the team lead with five interceptions. In his final year with the Wildcats, Ness was second on the team with 75 total tackles and recorded two picks to go along with eight pass breakups. Ness would go on to play in the National Football League for the Miami Dolphins, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams and Detroit Lions. Ness was named as a member of the ECC Athletics Top 75 Male Athletes during the school's 75th Anniversary celebration in 2022.
• Renita Robinson (Women's Track and Field: 1985-86) Robinson is one of the most decorated athletes in ECC Track and Field history. The Los Angeles, Calif. native and graduate of Manual Arts High School still holds two ECC records. Her long jump record of 20 feet, 5 inches was set in 1986 and has yet to be broken. In fact, no other ECC jumper has broken 20 feet in the event. Robinson also holds the record in the triple jump with a mark of 42 feet, 1 ½ inches. No other athlete has broken 41 feet in the event. She would sweep the triple jump in 1986, winning the Metro, Southern California and state championship in the event. Robinson would go on to transfer to the University of Nebraska and won the 1989 NCAA National Championship in the triple jump with a mark of 44 feet, 7 ½ inches. She was also the exhibition winner in the triple jump at the 2000 Olympic Trials.
• Ken Sale (Football: 1986-87) A member of the 1987 Warriors National Championship squad, Sale was the defensive leader for one of the greatest teams in ECC football history. As a sophomore, Sale was named First Team All-South Coast Conference and a Second Team All-American after recording 122 tackles, a number that is tied for the fourth most in a season in ECC history. He capped off the season with 12 tackles in the 1987 Pony Bowl as the Warriors defeated Taft College, 24-6, to claim the program's third state championship and first national championship. It was also the only team in ECC history to ever finish the season undefeated. He is a member of the ECC Football 1980s All-Decade Team. After ECC, Sale went on to finish his collegiate career at the University of Texas at El Paso where he was a member of the 1988 team which is winningest team in UTEP history, the only squad to win 10 games in a season in program history. Sale led the Miners in tackles in both 1988 (129) and 1989 (150). His 150 tackles in 1989 currently rank as the sixth most in a single season in UTEP history. He also recorded five interceptions in 1989, tied for the ninth most in single season history with three of those picks coming at San Diego State, tied for the second most interceptions in a single game in program history. Sale earned All-WAC First Team honors both years at UTEP and is listed as one of the greatest linebackers in UTEP history in the football team's media guide.
• Sue Saatkamp (Women's Swimming: 1981) Although she only competed one year for the Warriors, Saatkamp became one of the best swimmers in school history and still holds a pair of ECC records more than 40 years after she graced the ECC pool. Saatkamp is currently the ECC record-holder in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:08.38, which she set at the state championships on April 30, 1981. She also holds the school record in the 200-yard breast with a time of 2:29.50 which she set at the conference championships a week prior on April 25, 1981. Saatkamp is also in the top-15 in the ECC record books eight total events (50 and 100 fly; 50, 100 and 200 breast; 500 free; 100 and 200 IM). Saatkamp won the conference title in the 50 and 100 breast and was a member of the 200 and 400 medley relay and 400 free relay teams that held school records which stood for more than 20 years.
• Edmond Shepard (Men's Swimming: 2002) Another one-year wonder for the Warriors swim team, Shepard left his mark at ECC as he currently holds a pair of school records and many more top-15 times. Shepard was the CCCAA State Champion in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:51.25, which still stands as the ECC record in the event. He also set the ECC record in the 100 back at the 2002 state championships, finishing with a time of 52.32 to take third place. Shepard also holds top-15 times in 100, 200, 500 and 1000 freestyle along with the 50, 100 and 200 back; 50, 100 and 200 fly; and the 200 and 400 individual medleys. Shepard was also a member of the 800 free relay team that held the school record for 11 years. After ECC, Shepard competed at Biola University where he became an All-American and set records in the 100 and 200 back that stood until 2015. His third-place finishes in the 100 and 200 back and fourth-place finish in the 200 IM at the NAIA National Championships helped lead the team to a fourth-place overall finish, which remains the best men's team finish at the NAIA's in Biola's recorded history. Shepard would go on to eventually become the head coach of the Biola Swim and Dive program for 12 years where he coached two NAIA Swimmers of the Year and earned two coach of the year awards. He became the Associate Athletic Director for Internal Operations at Biola in 2016 and still holds that position.
• Brian Smith (Football: 2001-02) The all-time ECC leader in career tackles, Brian Smith played two seasons for the Warriors. He recorded 135 tackles in his freshman season and then followed that with 121 as a sophomore in nine games. Both marks rank third and sixth in ECC history respectively. His 256 total tackles rank as the most in a career, breaking the old record that stood for 11 years by fellow inductee Donovan Gallatin (217) by nearly 50 tackles. He was named First Team All-Mission Conference both years and earned All-American recognition in 2002. Smith would go on to attend the University of Minnesota where he played two seasons and recorded 48 career tackles in 24 career games.  Smith was named to the ECC Football 2000s All-Decade Team and was also named one the ECC Top 75 Athletes at the school's 75th anniversary celebration in 2022.
• Buzz Swarts (Men's Volleyball: 1966-69) One of the best beach volleyball players in history and a hall of famer, Swarts attended El Camino College in the late 1960s and was a member of the Co-ed six-person volleyball championship squad. He was a two-time conference most valuable player and also assisted John Taylor to two titles after his playing time at ECC. On the beach, Swarts was a 10-time Open champion with partners such as Matt Gage, Bob Jackson and Ron Von Hagen. Swarts and Gage won the Manhattan Beach Open in 1972, the crown jewel of his four victories that year. He would also post multiple wins in 1974, scoring three victories with two of them coming with Gage. Swarts was inducted into the California Beach Volleyball Association Hall of Fame in 2013.
• Tevete Usu (Football: 1993-94) One of the most physically dominating offensive lineman in ECC history, Usu is a member of the ECC Football 1990s All-Decade Team. Usu earned First Team All-Mission Conference honors in 1994 as the offensive tackle helped protect quarterback Steve Sarkisian during his historic 1994 season. In that year, Sarkisian threw for 4,304 yards and 41 touchdowns, both school records set with Usu helping anchor the offensive line. Usu recorded more "pancake" blocks than every other ECC offensive lineman combined during that 1994 season. Usu would go on the University of Arizona and played for the Wildcats in 1995 and 1997.